Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Cinema Clips: Hello, My Name is Doris

Sally Field plays the title character, a 60-something office worker who gets a crush on John (Max Greenfield), a much younger co-worker. The two become friendly, and then Doris gets a little carried away into a fantasy world regarding him.

Yes, she’s a bit of a stalker, but it’s Sally Field doing the stalking, so it winds up being kind of cute.

Directed by Michael Showalter (The Baxter, Wet Hot American Summer), the film mixes goofy comedy with some of a darker variety.

Field, who hasn’t had a chance to shine in a comedy in a long while, gives us a multi-dimensional character to go with the laughs. Greenfield is excellent as the object of Doris’s desire, and he actually has a palpable chemistry with Field.

You never really know if something might happen between Doris and John, and even though Field is thirty years older, hey, it’s Sally Field.

Showalter, who co-wrote the film with Laura Terruso, put together a nice supporting cast including Stephen Root and Tyne Daly.

Showalter didn’t get his due with his sweet and funny feature-directing debut, The Baxter. His movies show he can go beyond the realms of outrageous comedies and deliver material with a dramatic oomph…while still managing to be a bit silly.